I want to see the rock rails a lot more closely. And I would want to crawl underneath and examine the factory armor too.

I watched the video posted by TFL Cars and was less than impressed by what FourWheeler.com had already reported about the fact that the AWD system does not engage the rear wheels until the front starts slipping. It was painful to watch. The reviewers were quick to comment that their lead vehicle (a Wrangler) was a "real 4WD". You make your own decisions, but this is the first real test video of the KL that I have seen:

Thanks for sharing that video. Those guys always have interesting things to say.I was impressed at how he never touch the accelerator during "select speed"... whatever that is.Looked like they were on a course that was easy even for the Cherokee which I believe would mean it would be even easier for a KK.

Thanks for sharing that video. Those guys always have interesting things to say.I was impressed at how he never touch the accelerator during "select speed"... whatever that is.Looked like they were on a course that was easy even for the Cherokee which I believe would mean it would be even easier for a KK.

No, prob. They were using the "Hill Ascent Control" feature, I believe, when they were selecting the speed. I don't know how easy this course was for them as there were several times they got stuck. The need to spin the front-wheels (this being a FWD vehicle when in 2WD) before the rear-wheels kicked in (because no matter what they say this is really an AWD and not a real locking center differential 4WD) seems dangerous to me. Maybe this is why it comes with the (some call gimmicky?) Hill Ascent/Descend Controls (though I do understand that HDC [originally designed for the RR Freelander] came on KK as well)? Personally, I want more control and feedback than that.

I think an appropriately armored (full-skids and sliders) KJ or KK with AT tires but no lift would have done this with no problem. Even with open front and rear diffs. Too bad they didn't use one for the lead vehicle.

Thanks for sharing that video. Those guys always have interesting things to say.I was impressed at how he never touch the accelerator during "select speed"... whatever that is.Looked like they were on a course that was easy even for the Cherokee which I believe would mean it would be even easier for a KK.

No, prob. They were using the "Hill Ascent Control" feature, I believe, when they were selecting the speed. I don't know how easy this course was for them as there were several times they got stuck. The need to spin the front-wheels (this being a FWD vehicle when in 2WD) before the rear-wheels kicked in (because no matter what they say this is really an AWD and not a real locking center differential 4WD) seems dangerous to me. Maybe this is why it comes with the (some call gimmicky?) Hill Ascent/Descend Controls (though I do understand that HDC [originally designed for the RR Freelander] came on KK as well)? Personally, I want more control and feedback than that.

I think an appropriately armored (full-skids and sliders) KJ or KK with AT tires but no lift would have done this with no problem. Even with open front and rear diffs. Too bad they didn't use one for the lead vehicle.

Seems there's no question on the power it has which is a plus.Would have been sweet to see a KJ and KK out there with it.

Seems there's no question on the power it has which is a plus.Would have been sweet to see a KJ and KK out there with it.

Yes, and no.

The 3.7L "PowerTech" EKG made 210 hp @ 5200 rpm and 235 ft-lbs torque at 4000 rpm. The 3.2L Pentastar makes 271 hp @ 6500 rpm and 239 ft-lbs torque at 4400 rpm. More HP and same torque for higher engine revolutions. I had hoped that they were going to use the 3.6L Pentastar (290 hp @ 6350rpm/260 ft-lbs @ 4800 rpm) but that did not happen.

Either way, neither the 3.7L nor the 3.2L compare with the AMC 4.0L H.O. I-6 which while only producing 190 hp, it only needed 4600 rpms to do it, and created 235 ft-lbs of torque at 3200 rpms. Torque is what is necessary off-road, not horsepower. If you can generate it with less strain on the engine, so much the better.